I’m sure you’ve heard that the “fortune is in the follow-up” right? Well, I know it’s true. I’ve been called the “follow-up queen” for years, simply because I always call when I say I’m going to and I keep following up until someone tells me to stop calling. This approach has supported my success for years. This is truly the most important skill you need to cultivate as a direct seller and without it, your business will not survive (or thrive).
With your hosts, follow up will help solidify their commitment to you and it will position you as someone who genuinely cares about them and their party. If you practice effective follow-up with them, you’ll not only prevent cancellations, but build strong relationships that last well into the future with every host with whom you work. Hosts will promote you and commit to you after they experience your professionalism and your commitment to them with the personal way you follow up with them.
The truth is that, without follow up, approximately 1/3 of all hosts will cancel or postpone; 1/3 are thinking about it; and 1/3 would never let someone down & will hold their parties no matter what. So it’s important to connect with that 2/3 who might cancel. That’s where follow up comes in!
Here’s the simple two-step system for following up with your hosts (and if you commit to and follow this, I can just about guarantee that you’ll start to see a huge difference in your parties holding on the originally scheduled dates and an increase in the attendance and sales from those parties):
Step #1 – Make a simple follow up call the morning after the host books their party.
Let’s just admit it – most hosts experience some form of booking remorse (“Why did I book this show, I’m too busy,”etc.). If you make a phone call the next day just to quickly say, “Thanks for booking your party with me. I’m excited about coming and spoiling you and your friends and can’t wait to meet with you to plan your party next week,” that host is going to think twice about cancelling because it’s obvious her party is important to you.
This step literally takes about one minute because it’s either a quick, simple conversation or a message from you on your new host’s voice mail.
Step #2 – Send a handwritten thank you card the day after the host books their party.
Think about how you felt the last time you received a hand written thank you note in the mail! It made you feel like the person sending it was thinking about you and really cared about you.
Basically, this is just a note that echoes what you said on the message: (“Thank you very much, I’m so looking forward to doing your party! I’ll meet you Tuesday morning at Starbucks. Remember to bring me your list & postage, etc.”)
So now, a day or so after that host gets your message (because you mail the thank you note the same day you leave the message and it usually takes about a day to get to them), she gets home from work & finds a hand written note from you! Now you are definitely a step above anyone they have ever dealt with within the direct sales arena. And they’re clear that they (and their party) are very important to you. I used to say my hosts never cancelled because by the time they got that thank you note, they were saying, “I can’t possibly cancel! It will break this poor girl’s heart! I’m clearly the only host she has at the moment and she’s definitely excited about this party.” That was fine with me because it was how I wanted them to feel…as if they were my only host and the most important thing to me.
After this “follow-up two step”, your new host will like you, be committed to you, and hopefully they’re not going to cancel unless they have no other choice.
Want to amp up your attendance, sales, booking, and recruiting results? Host coaching is the key! You can learn about my entire, proven host coaching system on my popular audio program, Coaching Your Host For Maximum Success.
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Julie Anne Jones is a sought after keynote speaker, online trainer, and corporate business consultant. She’s an accredited life and business coach with over fifteen years of experience speaking on stages across the United States and Canada. Known as “the systems specialist,” Julie Anne can break down any concept into simple, step-by-step, action-oriented training. She is known for her authentic and easy-to-use scripting and specializes in specific language and communication tools for business success.
To learn more about Julie Anne and her products and services, and to read more blog posts, visit her at www.julieannejones.com.
